An agreement has been reached between the Department of Agriculture and farm organisations on a suite of increases in farmer compensation arising from a breakout of TB on their farm.
he package covers Income Supplement, Hardship and Depopulation grants, with all supplements increased by over 25pc for dairy cows and from 18-25pc for suckler animals.
These new supplements will be backdated to February 1 for those restricted with TB.
The deal came after months of negotiations between farm organisations and the Department of Agriculture at the TB forum.
Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue TD, welcomed confirmation of the agreement and said he was acutely aware of the financial and emotional pain associated with a TB breakdown.
ICMSA Livestock Committee Chairperson Des Morrison said it was now fairly well known that since February 1 new procedures are in place for TB testing of particular animals on Irish farms.
"These new rules are due to European Union Regulations regarding Bovine TB, which require that certain animals moving farm-to-farm or through marts must be tested within a certain timeframe. A pre or post movement test will be required on cows of all ages and males over the age of 36 months that are moving farm-to-farm or through a mart if the herd of origin has not been TB tested in the last six months”, said Mr Morrison.
Animals that require a test in the 30 days after movement will be restricted immediately in the herd into which they have moved. This herd has 30 days to carry out a test on these animals.
If after 30 days the animals have not been tested, the herd that received them will be restricted, though the sale of calves under six weeks of age and the purchase-in of animals will be permitted. If after another 60 days - that is 90 days since the original movement - the animals have still not been tested, then the whole herd will be scheduled for a TB test.
If the moved in animals are at any point are slaughtered, the restriction will be lifted, except where the herd has been listed for a full test, he explained.
There will now be a payment from the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM) to all breeding herds who wish to avail of at least one pre-movement test in 2023 to sell animals that may fall under these regulations.
“This payment will be made to farmers and will cover the call-out fee for a Veterinary Practitioner and up to four cows.
"This payment for one pre-movement test effectively allows a farmer to adjust the date of their annual TB test to align with their optimal time of selling animals.
"There may be some additional costs on farms in 2024 in the form of an increased levy on milk and slaughter of animals, but these increases are expected to be minimal due to changes in the rules surrounding the purchase in of replacement cows for restricted herd.
"There will also be a ‘brake’ or review of such issues on an ongoing basis within remit of the TB Forum," he said.
